


Little Lie, Big Consequence

by AgentMaryMargaretSkitz, IncendiaGlacies



Series: Legends of S.H.I.E.L.D [11]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012), DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: AOS 1x10, Agents of Shield AU, Angst is being set up, Family Feels, Hell hath no fury like a pissed Rip Hunter, Spies & Secret Agents, we back baby
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-07
Updated: 2018-09-07
Packaged: 2019-07-08 05:29:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,285
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15923855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AgentMaryMargaretSkitz/pseuds/AgentMaryMargaretSkitz, https://archiveofourown.org/users/IncendiaGlacies/pseuds/IncendiaGlacies
Summary: Gideon and her team prepare to make a move against Mirakuru and bringing in some super-powered support, but not everything is as it seems.





	Little Lie, Big Consequence

**Author's Note:**

> So we've reached the rewrite of The Bridge for this verse (AOS 1x10) and we're pretty thrilled about it. It means we're one step closer to some pretty juicy stuff.

               Zee bobbed her head along to the rock music coming through her headphones. Her fingers tapped the sides of the laptop as she clicked on the next file. She first looked at the picture of the female SHIELD agent before looking at the name and reading through the rest of the file. Their skin tones were pretty close to matching, although Zee couldn’t rely on that alone. Although she did take a leave around the time Zee was born...

“Zee!” someone shouted behind her.

The hacker sucked in a breath as she whirled around and saw Gideon standing in the doorway of the bunk.

“I’ve been here for a while now,” the leader said as Zee removed the headphones. “You do know loud music can damage your hearing, right?”

“It wasn’t that loud,” she muttered, setting them to the side. “I was focusing on something else.”

Gideon stepped inside to get a better look at the screen. “I know her. Esther Kane. She was in charge of some missions that I ran with Rip. Why are you looking at her file?”

“Remember when you told me that you found my unredacted file at the Hub, about the woman who dropped me off at the group home being a SHIELD agent?” Zee told her, getting a nod in response. “I’ve been looking into the female agents who were active around the time I was born. There’s a lot to go through, but I made a program based on age and marital status to try and narrow it down. For all I know, one of these women could be my mother.”

“Zee,” Gideon said gently. “We don’t know that the woman who dropped you off there was your mother. All we know is that she was SHIELD. Even if she is an agent, then there’s still a lot to go through.”

“Or I could get through it quicker if you took the internet nanny off,” Zee suggested, holding up her wrist. “Please?”

“Not just yet. But I have asked Rip to help with our search. He did work in administration before joining the team.”

“I thought that we were keeping this between us,” Zee swallowed. It wasn’t that she was opposed to Rip’s help, but only now had they finally started to get on good terms. Besides, Gideon understood what she was going through with trying to find one of her parents.

“I trust Rip,” Gideon said. “He’ll keep this quiet. We’re not going to tell the whole team.”

“Thanks.”

Gideon nodded. “You can get back to this later, we’ve got a mission briefing that needs our attention. Plus, I don’t want to keep the Sunshine Twins waiting.”

“I can go get Rip and Nate from the cargo bay,” Zee offered as they left her room. “I think they were having some kind of alpha-male sparring thing.”

“No, you go on in and keep the twins occupied. I’ll get them.”

* * *

 

Rip couldn’t keep the satisfied smirk off of his face as Nate landed hard on the mat. He hadn’t originally planned to be down here, but he needed to blow off some steam. The previous night had let Calvert revisit his dreams, except Gideon was in Jonas’s place. She’d been getting more suspicious about Aruba lately and had come to him about it. So when Nate had asked to spar, he’d taken him up on the offer.

“Nice feint,” the specialist coughed out as he pushed himself upright.

“I’ve read your file,” Rip replied. “It listed your weak spots.”

“They have that in there?” Nate turned to him slowly. “Anything else I should know?”

“I’d assume you’ve at least seen your file,” Rip muttered as he grabbed a bottle of water. “But there was nothing new in there to me. Your family history, mission records, combat evaluations. People don’t recognize how intelligent you are until you prove it. And your medical record.”

Nate tensed. “Hunter…”

“I don’t have a problem with it, as long as it doesn’t compromise you. You’re valuable to this team.”

The tension eased away into a smile. “Thanks. Want to go for another round?”

“That’s going to have to wait,” Gideon’s voice called above. Rip gazed up to see her on the balcony above them. “Clean up quickly and get to the briefing room. We have a new assignment.”

               Nate nodded and grabbed a towel hanging from the staircase. Rip watched as Gideon left before going to get his own towel. He hoped this mission wouldn’t have Gideon questioning her resurrection again. If she continued searching, keeping her in the dark was going to become impossible.

* * *

 

               A federal prison had been broken into earlier that day. Three men had dropped through the ceiling and were out again with a prisoner in the span of two minutes. There was still a search for their identities, but a Mirakuru device was visible on at least one on them. It was a surprise to all of them since Mirakuru hadn’t been spotted since Hong Kong.

“They must have salvaged some research since a few people got away,” Ray murmured as he and Lily studied the screen. “And these guys aren’t combusting.”

“They must have used Hewitt’s platelets in it!” Lily clapped her hands together. “Because of his abilities, they were resistant to combustion! Now, it’s stable and they can create super-soldiers without them exploding.”

“I wouldn’t get so excited about that,” Zee told them. “Sure, yay, science, but this isn’t good.”

“Zee’s right,” Gideon agreed. “Mirakuru is still out there, and they could have more than three super-soldiers, along with their prisoner.”

“Who’d they take?” Nate asked.

Gideon swiped across the screen, bringing up a mug shot. “Ted Gaynor, former Army. He was a commanding officer in Afghanistan to a few units. After he came back from his tour of duty in 2009, Gaynor played bodyguard before going off the map. When he reappeared, the authorities had been tipped off by a man who worked with him and busted him in the middle of robbing an armored car. Gaynor shot the man before the authorities could apprehend them both.”

“Well, he sounds fun,” Zee muttered. “At least we’ve got his mugshot.”

“Exactly,” Gideon nodded. “We’ve been circulating it to try and put a location on him. From there, we can get one on Mirakuru’s new operations. SHIELD’s made this our top priority to bring in Gaynor and the soldiers who busted him out. Fortunately, we are getting back-up.”

Nate leaned forward. “What team did they send?”

“Not a team, but a person who can help us fight fire with fire,” Gideon slid up a new photo. “We all remember Rene Ramirez, right?”

* * *

 

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Rip asked her as Rene arrived at the hanger. “You remember what happened the last time we crossed paths with him?”

“Of course, I do,” Gideon said. “But he’s going to be an asset to us, just like Zee is.”

“We’ll see.”

“He will,” Gideon glanced up to make sure it was just them. “Also, I should mention that Zee’s trying to find out who dropped her at the group home. And I may have let it slip that you were working with us, so she might ask you for help. We agreed to find out the whole story before-”

“I’ll handle it,” Rip replied as their newest recruit came up the ramp towards them.

“Agent Rider, Agent Hunter,” Rene said. “It’s good to see you again.”

Rip gave a cool glare. “You threw me into a brick wall the last time we met.”

The super-soldier cringed a little. “Yeah, I wasn’t thinking clear. I didn’t get how much this all was then, but I get it now. This doesn’t just happen to anybody. Training and working with SHIELD is me trying to do better.”

“I’m pleased to hear that,” Gideon smiled. “I believe very firmly in second chances, Agent Ramirez, but I don’t believe in third ones. Are we clear?”

“I got it.”

“Excellent. We’ll take you to the others now.”

               As they made their way of the staircase, Rip slipped off to the cockpit. Gideon took Rene to the briefing room. She could hear the four younger teammates discussing the situation with their new member. The Sunshine Twins seemed hesitant, but Zee was adamant that Rene was a good guy. Nathaniel, however, sounded like he had already made up his mind.

“Are we really sure we can trust him?” he was saying as they drew closer. “When we last met him, he was a raging homicidal maniac that was tearing the place apart.”

“Someone I know?” Gideon asked, slipping past a rapidly paling Nate with Rene. “Mr. Ramirez, you remember Agent Nathaniel Heywood.”

“Yeah, the guy who shot me,” Rene said, eyeing Nate.

The other man composed himself. “Nice to see you again.”

Gideon continued with her introductions. “Dr. Raymond Palmer and Dr. Lily Stein developed the weapon he used on you. And I think you remember-”

“Zee,” Rene nodded. “You joined SHIELD too?”

The hacker smiled. “Yep. The suits aren’t so bad after all, or at least not these ones. It’s good to see you again. How’s everything?”

“Better than I was at the train station,” he told them. “If it had been another team there, I don’t think I’d be standing here right now. I owe all of you.”

All of them smiled save for Nate. Gideon eyed him warningly before turning to Zee. “Have you been able to locate Gaynor yet?”

“Unfortunately, no. All previous addresses and old contacts are coming up empty.”

“If we can’t find anything on the outside of the prison, then the inside gets examined next,” Gideon told her. “See if he was in contact with anyone or had any friends. Do we have anything on the Mirakuru soldiers?”

“One got a facial recognition hit,” Nate said. “Paul Knox. He’s also ex-military who fell off the map when he came home from his tour.”

“He’s got a younger sister at college at Ohio State,” Ray added. “She’s his only living relative.”

“And the one who has the best chance of finding out where Knox is now,” Gideon murmured. “I’ll tell Rip that we need to get to Columbus. Nathaniel, when we land, I want you with me to go talk to the sister. Zee, keep looking into Gaynor. Raymond, Lily, take Rene here to the lab and run some tests. I want to make sure we’ve all field ready if we have to go out.”

               All of them acknowledged the orders with a nod of their heads or affirmative statements. They started to disperse, but Nate caught her as he left. Gideon felt her stomach twist as she realized she was going to be working alone with him for the first time since Ireland. She still remembered how close they’d come to getting…intimate before she snapped to her senses.

Hopefully he would be an adult about it.

* * *

 

“Why are you taking my measurements again?”

“We’re trying to build you a diagnostic suit for the field that will let us monitor your vitals,” Ray explained as Lily pulled the measuring tape over Rene’s bicep. “Didn’t you already do that arm?”

“No, that was the other one, and the last measurement I had to take. Then I’ll upload the measurements.”

“Thanks,” he nodded, his eyes falling onto the Mirakuru device on Rene’s arm as Lily pulled the tape off. “So with material, how does a polymer blend with, uh, ten layers of composite material…”

“If you think it’ll hold up, go for it,” Rene said, turning his arm out towards Ray. “And you can just ask to see it.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to stare,” Ray apologized, studying the metal clinging to the inside of his arm. “It’s-”

“-fascinating,” Lily finished. “We’ve never gotten to see one up this close before.”

“Guess you’re lucky today. The Sci-Ops facility tried to take it off, but they couldn’t do it without killing me. It used to feel strange. Now it’s just a part of me.”

“Wow,” Lily grinned. “How did they stabilize the Mirakuru serum inside you?”

“None of the others we’ve encountered have stayed alive long enough,” Ray explained. “They’ve all exploded. What’d Sci-Ops use?”

Rene frowned. “Wait, they didn’t tell you?”

“Nope.”

“We haven’t heard a thing.”

“Sci-Ops didn’t stabilize me,” he revealed. “That was all you two. Your gun froze me just before I was about to explode. It got my body to absorb the serum and stabilize. I’m alive because of you two.”

The two scientists’ faces lit up with excitement.

“We just intended it to cause temporary paralysis,” Lily babbled.

Ray picked up immediately where she left off. “But it’s another way of stabilizing the serum.”

“Do you think there are other uses for it?”

“I don’t know, but now I’m curious to find out.”

“You two always talk like that?” Rene asked, staring between the two of them.

Ray chuckled. “It’s happened enough times that people always ask us that question.”

* * *

 

“You told me you needed me here,” Rip said from behind Zee.

The girl turned around. “Hey, Rip.”

He noticed a file for an agent on her laptop screen. She noticed his stare and closed it.

“Gideon told me you were helping out with the search for my parents,” Zee grinned briefly, fishing out a flash drive. “It means a lot that you’re helping me. I’ve done some investigating, and I have a short list of-”

“Have you forgotten that we’re on a mission, Zee?” Rip asked sternly. “Don’t tell me this is why you called me.”

Zee shook her head, pocketing the drive. “I was just working on it while I waited for you. I’ve actually found something new on Gaynor.”

“What is it?”

Zee lead him to the briefing room and pulled up a video of Gaynor and a woman in red speaking in a visitation area. “Gaynor kept to himself in prison, but he had one visitor. Cooper told us that the woman who paid him to hack SHIELD wore red. It’s a stretch, but this could be that same lady.”

“It’s possible,” Rip mused. “Can we hear what they’re talking about?”

“The video has no audio, but SHIELD has a lip-reading program since apparently you guys have all the cool toys. Anyways, I used it on the video. The woman never looked up at the camera, so we don’t know what she said. We did get something out of Gaynor.”

Zee pressed her finger on the table. On the screen, the program latched onto the movement of Gaynor’s lips before reciting, “The Clairvoyant does not like to be touched.”

“That couldn’t be any creepier,” Zee muttered. “I’ve got it written down for Gideon whenever she and Nate get back. But I’ve got no idea who this Clairvoyant is.”

“Me neither,” Rip shook his head. “Clearly, he’s someone to Gaynor and this woman.”

“Her name’s Valentina.”

Rip and Zee turned to see Rene entering the room. “She came and recruited me for Mirakuru. I remember she told me she could change my life.”

“She lived up to that promise,” Zee murmured, glancing back at the screen. “Odds are that if we find Gaynor, we find her too.”

* * *

 

               Gideon waited out in Lola while Nate spoke with Knox’s sister in front of the chemical engineering building. He was impersonating someone from the state gaming commission with the explanation that Paul Knox had won the lottery and they needed to get into contact with him to make sure he got his money. If the sister did know where he was, she’d tell them. However, if she didn’t, the business card Nate was to give her would be able to track her calls. When she called Knox to tell him people were looking for him, they’d still get his location.

“Are you sure this story is a good idea?” Nate asked as he returned to her. “Winning the lottery is hard to sell to someone.”

“Exactly why I told you to use it,” Gideon smiled. “If a handsome man comes up to you and tells you that your brother won the lottery, it’s cause for suspicion. Did you give her the card?”

“I did,” Nate grinned. “So…handsome, huh?”

Gideon shot him a look.

“Sorry, that was inappropriate,” he held up his hands. “Have the others found out anything new on Gaynor yet?”

“Zee and Rip called in while you were with Ms. Knox,” Gideon explained. “They found a woman visiting Gaynor in prison. Rene identified her. Her name is Valentina and she’s the one who got him into Mirakuru. We’re betting she’s their recruiter.”

“And Gaynor’s her next pick for the program?”

“Possibly, but whoever’s running this operation could another plan. Gaynor was a commander in Afghanistan. They might want him to oversee the super-soldiers, lead their attacks and whatnot.”

“Makes sense,” Nate nodded as he climbed into the car. “Anything else?”

“Apparently Gaynor referred to a clairvoyant during a video of a visitation Zee found,” Gideon added, starting the car.

Nate wrinkled his nose. “SHIELD has no records on psychics though, right?”

“As far as we know, they’re only a myth. I suspect it’s an alias for someone. Zee’s checking databases for it now to see if it comes up anywhere.”

Before Gideon could shift into drive, her tablet started to beep. She kept them in park to reach over and look at the tablet.

“She’s making the call,” Gideon showed the screen to him. “I told you it would work.”

The two watched the screen as the tracker linked to the phone and started to search for Knox’s location. After a minute, it pinpointed in on Oakland, California.

“There you have it,” she said. “We need to get there as fast as we can before he tries to move.”

* * *

 

Zee peeked her head into the interrogation room that Rene was set up in. “How’s everything going?”

“Pretty good,” the man nodded at her. “At least I’ve got a mattress.”

“Yeah, I didn’t get that when Gideon brought me in,” Zee chuckled. “I never got the chance to ask you how Zoe is?”

“She’s great. Her aunt’s taking care of her right now. She doesn’t know that I’m with SHIELD, just that I’ve got a job and I’m trying to save up money.”

Zee let out a slow breath. “That kinda stinks. Not being able to tell her the truth.”

“Well, maybe one day I might find a way to explain it,” Rene shrugged. “But we’re in touch. I call her almost every week. A few days ago, I got some hockey tickets sent out to her so she can finally go to some games.”

               A tiny pang of longing flared up in her chest. She had never really had a parental figure to look up to who stayed in her life long enough. There were still nights where she fell asleep wondering what it would like to have someone like that in her life. Someone who loved you with their whole heart. At least Zoe had a good father in Rene. Zee was happy the girl still had at least one of her parents.

“Are you guys really close?” she asked quietly.

“Definitely,” Rene nodded. “We always have been. We’re a team.”

Zee swallowed. “That must be…really nice. Zoe’s lucky to have her father.”

A shadow passed over Rene’s face. Before Zee could dwell on it, the door opened Gideon walked in, arms behind her back.

“Do you still want a shot at taking down Mirakuru?” she asked.

“Damn sure.”

Gideon drew her arms forward, a parcel of cloth in them. “Suit up then.”

* * *

 

               Knox’s cell phone was tracked out to an abandoned factory a few miles from the airfield. There was suspicion that it was another Mirakuru facility, given a new one always popped up when one was destroyed. Gideon, Rip, Nate, and Rene were all going out there to seek him out and bring him in. Zee, Ray, and Lily were to monitor the signal from Knox and Rene’s vitals in the suit the scientists had made for him. They wouldn’t be in the thick of it, but stationed in a van nearby.

               Gideon had paired up with Rene to enter through one end while Rip and Nate were going to come through the other side. Upon arrival, it wasn’t hard to notice how quiet things seemed. For a brief moment, all of the agents wondered if they had arrived too late. However, Zee was puzzled by the electrical signal in the building preventing her from getting a clear marker on Knox. That restored hope that somewhere in the place, there had been Mirakuru activity at one point.

“Raymond, would you mind dialing Knox’s cell phone?” Gideon asked as she and Rene came into a massive room with some old shipping containers lying about. “We figure out where he’s gone off to now.”

“Yes, ma’am. Give me a few seconds.”

A muffled ringtone of a Bon Jovi song started playing. It was coming from one of the shipping containers. They turned toward it before the doors flew off the one in front of them, revealing Paul Knox. Another container lost their doors to show a second Mirakuru soldier. On the other side of the room, Gideon’s head snapped over to see a third vaulting over a balcony to land on the floor. All this time, they had been waiting for them.

“Ma’am, we have three new heat signatures-”

“Yep, we see them,” Gideon cut Lily off. “Rip, Nathaniel, we’re going to need some back-up.”

“We’re coming your way now.”

               Knox suddenly pushed the heavy shipping container towards Gideon and Rene like it was nothing to him. Before it could flatten her, Rene ran forward, planted his feet, and slowed it to a stop before moving it out of the way. Across the room, Rip and Nate had arrived and were now engaging with the other two soldiers. Turning back to Knox, Gideon drew out her icer and fired a shot at the super-soldier. When he went sprawling down, she exhaled, partly on instinct of how Rip had taught her to shoot and partly out of relief.

As she crept closer towards him, Knox rocketed back up onto his feet. He shook his head, the blue dendrotoxin in his veins ebbing away.

“This usually takes one down,” she murmured, taking a step back.

“Yeah, I remember,” Rene replied before running at Knox to take him on.

               As the super-soldiers brawled, Gideon spared a glance over to Rip and Nate. They were holding up well on their own. Then Nate suddenly stepped in front of Rip as a punch sailed towards the pilot’s jaw. He stumbled back by Rip before snatching the gun from Rip’s side and firing at the super-soldier. Even from where she was, Gideon couldn’t miss the death glare Rip gave to Nate as he snatched up an old piece of rebar and fought the other opponent.

               Gideon turned back to her own battle as Knox’s foot collided with her chest. Across the room, someone shouted. She sailed backwards, hitting a shipping container. While she didn’t feel like anything had been broken, the wind had been knocked out of her. She heard Nate yell and turned to see him sliding down one of the shipping containers. Rip was climbing onto his feet, spitting out blood as he prepared for another round.

“You okay?” Rene asked, turning to her.

She was about to nod until she saw Knox stalking up towards him with his own piece of rebar. “Rene!”

Rene turned in time for the rebar to pierce into his side. His scream was bloodcurdling. Gideon couldn’t help but flinch when it was pulled out.

“Ma’am, you need to withdraw,” Ray told her.

“Rene’s systolic and diastolic pressures are going down, his heartrate is dropping,” Lily muttered frantically. “With the physical exertion and this wound, we can’t keep him out there.”

Zee chimed in at the end too. “Gideon, if you don’t get out now, he could die!”

“No,” Rene shook his head as he looked to Gideon. “I got this.”

Gideon finally sucked a breath in that didn’t hurt and climbed back onto her feet to aid him. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted rebar with concrete caked around part of it. It reminded her very much of a club. Dashing over to it, she hefted it up and swung it towards Rene. He caught it in his hand and struck Knox first at his feet, then at his chest, finally taking the man down.

As soon as Knox dropped, the soldiers who had been fighting Nate and Rip stopped attacking the agents and fled the scene as fast as they could.

Knox, however, seemed to have overexerted himself and was struggling to catch his breath.

Gideon stepped over to him with Rene at her side. His hand was clamped against the rebar wound.

“Who is behind Mirakuru?” she demanded to Knox. “Who’s responsible for this?”

“I won’t say anything,” he panted. “I swear.”

“You really might want to reconsider that,” she said sharply, stepping closer.

Knox’s expression morphed to panic. “No, no, no! Please don’t do it! Please don’t-”

There was a soft noise as Knox’s left eye became shrouded in smoke. His head flopped back and his chest stopped rising.

Even though Gideon had seen this happen before, it still made her feel sick to her stomach.

* * *

 

               Rip had to wait for a while after they came back to finally approach Nate. The last thing he wanted to do was make a big scene about what had gone down at the warehouse. Even now, a few hours later, he was still fuming about it. Nate had kept sliding in his path to take punches Rip should have gotten, as if he was trying to be heroic. Plus, he’d taken his gun so quickly in the thick of it all that he’d had no time to stop the other man.

Rip waited by the bar until Nate finally emerged from his room, rolling down his sleeve.

“Hey, Rip,” he greeted, going back behind to pull out a beer for himself. “Can I get you a scotch?”

“I’d rather an explanation.”

Nate’s face twisted in bafflement. “Huh?”

“Out on that op today,” the pilot continued. “I’m some helpless bloke who needs to be defended. I can hold up my own in a fight just as well as you can.”

“Hang on, what?”

“You took more than one punch for me out there,” Rip reminded him. “Then you took my gun to fight with. I don’t care if you got yours kicked away. But you. Do not. Take. Mine. I need a partner who has my back, not someone trying to be a big damn hero.”

Nate snapped the top off his beer slowly. “Rip, I think you misunderstood.”

“And how’s that?”

“I took that punch because you’ve got more experience than I do and know how to do more damage in a fight,” he explained. “And your gun, it was reflex to cover our ass when the guy was about to come at us again. I’m sorry that I took it, but I was trying to be tactical.”

Rip nodded slowly. He was still displeased with the gun, but the explanation made sense. “It appears I’ve made a mistake then.”

“It happens,” Nate muttered before meeting his eyes. “Look, Rip, not everyone in the world is out to get you. Some people just want to make sure you’re okay. When they do, and you respond with an accusation like that, you just make your reputation even colder.”

With that, he stalked off back to his bunk.

Rip clenched his hand into a fist. He hated the stinging truth in Nate’s words.

“That was harsh.”

Rip whirled around to see Zee standing behind him. “How long have you been there?”

“Just that last part,” she admitted.

“What are you even doing here?” Rip asked. “And don’t let it be because of that flash drive.”

She shook her head.

“Good,” Rip nodded. He couldn’t get involved in that mess after the drama with Nate.

“Sorry I ever tried to ask you for help with that,” he heard Zee snap as he turned to walk away. “And I get you’re dealing with crap with Nate, but I was told you were helping out with my search. Gideon suggested-”

“Gideon doesn’t want to tell you the truth,” Rip spun back around to her. “You know what that is Zee? It’s-”

He stopped himself before he could continue. The memories of what had been on that document came back to him. How those SHIELD agents had found Zee. They still didn’t know the whole story behind it but hearing how she was found would put so much guilt on the hacker.

“It’s that you have to decide why you’re here,” Rip continued. “I know Gideon’s already told you something like this before but let me make this clear. Right now, we have a mission to take down Mirakuru. Finding your parents is not a part of it, Zee. You have to put aside your personal attachments and focus on the assignment. If you can’t, then you need to leave.”

“I’m sorry I’m not the Cavalry,” Zee uttered.

The nickname brought back memories of Calvert in full force. “It’s not about being the bloody Cavalry! Gideon was in your same place once too. She waited until she was officially an agent before letting herself search for her mother, and even then, it wasn’t during a mission. Try and take a page out of her book there.”

               Frustrated, Rip turned away and headed back towards the cockpit. Once inside, he took a few breaths to calm himself down. Yelling at Zee had not been the best course of action. There was so much happening between Mirakuru and keeping Gideon in the dark and Nate that this new problem had made him lose his temper. But Zee had to hear that from someone before her search distracted her on an op and someone got hurt because of it. She’d never forgive herself if that happened.

* * *

 

               Gideon tapped her fingers on her desk, deep in thought. Mirakuru was no longer just a shadowy organization responsible for making super-soldiers. They were also the ones who created the prosthetic eye technology they’d seen on an early mission once Ray confirmed the x-rays of the agent they’d helped and Knox were the same design. All the soldiers who attacked them must have had it based on how the two had fled once it looked like they could be beaten. Knox, who hadn’t managed to catch up with them, had his kill switch flipped so he wouldn’t spill any secrets to them.

               This was a formidable threat now, one with technology that kept advancing rapidly. Icers no longer stopped them cold and the location of whoever was watching the eye-cam feed could no longer be traced. Clearly someone was funding this operation if they were able to set up and move so quickly while also improving their tech. Perhaps Lily was right that the Clairvoyant was providing the money, although the nickname was rubbish if that was the case. But unlike Zee’s claims, this person couldn’t be a psychic.

She already had sent the update on what had happened to SHIELD headquarters, along with another request for her file regarding her treatment after New York. Level 10 access her foot, it was her file.

“Rider?”

Gideon glanced up. “Rene. Please come in.”

The super-soldier walked in slowly, grimacing as he took a seat. “I don’t know how much good I’m gonna to be to you in the next few days.”

“Well, you did go above and beyond today in the warehouse even after getting stabbed,” she reminded him. “Without you, we would probably be in worse shape. I owe you a thank you for that.”

“It’s fine. Mirakuru’s still out there thoughh. I’ll help take them down in any way I can.”

Gideon glanced at the tablet where she’d just been reading his report. “I know. Your SO has said you’re a hard worker, and that you’ve been training around the clock.”

“Nothing wrong with trying to be as good as I can get.”

She nodded. “I understand. But I’ve also found out you haven’t left the training facility since your arrival there. That means you haven’t seen your daughter since the train station.”

Rene’s body language signified discomfort. “I talk to Zoe all the time on the phone. She’s great.”

“You haven’t gone to see her though.”

“The last time she saw me, I was tearing apart the lobby there,” Rene snapped suddenly, pausing before going on. “I was a monster, and Zoe saw that. She saw all of it.”

“I know she did, and it’s too late to change what happened there. But talking is only going to do so much. Not being there for her, it’s not going to make it much better. You’re the only parent she has left. If you stay away, she’s going to grow up wondering where you are now and why you left her. No child should have to go through that.”

Rene avoided her gaze. “Hurting Zoe is the last thing I want to do. Even though she’s my daughter, I can’t help but wonder sometimes if she’s better off without me.”

“I don’t believe that for a second,” Gideon stood and took a seat in the chair beside his. “My mother left when I was a baby. Even though I knew this, I always wondered if it had been my fault that she didn’t stick around. I was lucky to have my father with me at least. Now he thinks I’m dead and I can’t tell him I’m not. I’ve lost that relationship, and it hurts me every day.”

Tears pricked her eyes, and Gideon quickly composed herself with a happy thought before continuing.

“But with you, Zoe knows you’re alive,” she smiled. “You have someone waiting for you to come home. Not a lot of us have that, and those who do don’t always come back alive. I understand you want to help, but I don’t want it to be at the cost of your relationship with your daughter.”

“What are you saying?”

“Just think over what you want for the future.”

Rene nodded and stood up. “I’ll try.”

* * *

 

               Mirakuru didn’t wait long before rearing their ugly head again. Rene’s call to Zoe to tell her that he was coming home had taken a dark turn. After Zoe mentioned someone wanted to talk to him, Valentina came on the line and revealed she had the girl in her clutches. Fortunately, Mirakuru was willing to give her back at a specified location and time. In return, they wanted Rene, most likely to see how he still had his abilities.

               Specific instructions were given to Rene about the exchange. No big SHIELD back-up, not even hostage-rescue unit. No electronics on those who were part of the exchange process. Only Gideon’s team was to come and she was to bring Rene over to them without anyone else. If they did anything wrong, Mirakuru would kill Zoe on the spot.

               It seemed like they were going to lose Rene until Ray revealed that he and Lily had been working on a non-electronic tracking method. She’d developed an odorless scent, while Ray built an instrument to track it. If they put it on Rene, they could follow after him and wait until he was back at full strength before breaking him away from Mirakuru. It’d be a long game, but they could win it.

When they arrived at the bridge where the exchange was to take place, Gideon glanced over at Rip’s frown. “I know that look.”

“Just let me bring Mr. Ramirez out for the exchange.”

“No. They ordered it to be me. I’m sorry, but I can’t risk anything happening to that little girl.”

Rip sighed.

Gideon unclipped her seatbelt. “Rip, listen to me. If anything goes off the rails on this, I need you to take point for the team.”

“You’ll be back. There’s no need to say that.”

“I’m just making sure. Nathaniel’s in position. Ready?”

Rip shook his head. “I don’t like this, Gideon.”

“Good. I’d be worried if you did.”

               She got out of the car and retrieved Rene, who was getting the scent on him from Lily. Ray was explaining how it was going to work, but Rene was more focused on getting his daughter back. Gideon didn’t blame him. If she had a child in this position, she’d do anything to get them back.

“Good luck,” Zee told them as they prepared to leave.

Gideon walked side by side with Rene, glancing over briefly at the building to her left, where Nate was hiding in the shadows with a sniper rifle. “We are going to get you back, Rene.”

“This wasn’t supposed to go down like this,” he said. “Whatever happens, I’ll make it right.”

               The bridge was currently getting repairs, so various construction vehicles were parked on the road. With the angle Nate was at, he probably didn’t have visibility of them. Without a clear view, he wouldn’t be able to line up a shot. Mirakuru had that advantage over them.

A brunette in red accompanied by a soldier was waiting for them in the middle of the bridge.

“Rene,” she greeted as they stopped before her. “It’s been quite a while. Zoe’s a sweet girl, but tough like her father.”

Gideon eyed the woman. Based on the accent, she guessed the woman had either grown up or spent an extensive time in Russia. “Valentina, I presume?”

“Indeed.” Valentina turned towards her. “You must be Gideon Rider.”

“That’s what my ID says.”

Valentina ignored her. “Thank you, Rene, for holding up your end of the deal.”

“So, let’s get it over with,” Gideon sighed. “Release Zoe into our custody, and Rene will go with you.”

Valentina’s smile grew colder. “Oh, that wasn’t the deal.”

“What do you mean, that wasn’t-” Gideon faltered, remembering what Rene had told her moments ago. “Rene?”

“I’m sorry,” he told her. “I’m really sorry.”

“We never wanted Rene in the exchange,” Valentina revealed. “We wanted you.”

Gideon frowned. “What?”

Rene lunged forward, grabbing Mirakuru’s recruiter by the throat. The soldier with her tried to intervene, but the woman held up a hand.

“I’m changing the terms of our agreement,” Rene snarled. “You let my daughter go, and I let you live.”

A choked laugh left Valentina. “My employer doesn’t care about my life. Or your daughter’s. If you kill me, Zoe will die too.”

“No one is dying,” Gideon stepped forward. “Let her go, Rene. I’ll go with her.”

Rene released Valentina. “I told them they could have me, but they only wanted you. Why?”

It was a good question. Gideon didn’t know the answer, but she had a feeling what it was.

“I don’t know,” Gideon lied. “But you’ll never see your daughter again if you kill this woman.”

“And never be able to stop thinking about how I betrayed you to get her back?”

Gideon forced a smile. “Don’t think of it as betrayal. Zoe was in danger and you did what any parent would. I don’t blame you for your actions. Now let’s finish this.”

Valentina motioned to a parked car. Another soldier stepped out and opened the backseat’s door. Zoe Ramirez was brought out and lead over to her father. Gideon watched the reunion with a heavy heart. If only she could tell her father that she was still alive. But at least Zoe and Rene were back together and now heading for the rest of the team.

Rip was going to be furious with her.

Something went into her arm. Gideon gasped out before the world tilted backwards.

* * *

 

“They’re taking Gideon!”

               Zee’s head snapped up as Nate’s call came over the radio. Ahead of her, Rene was running back to them with Zoe in tow. She could just barely see Gideon being dragged away by two super-soldiers and another woman walking alongside them. This was not the way the deal was supposed to play out.

               Rip was the first to get out of the car, radioing SHIELD headquarters for backup. Zee scrambled out with Lily and Ray to follow him. The science twins were already babbling to each other about what they had that could get Gideon back right now. Zee tuned them out, her attention divided between Rene and Zoe and Gideon.

“I have a shot lined up,” Nate radioed in.

“Do not engage, or they’ll kill Gideon,” Rip ordered before continuing his request for back-up.

Rene had arrived back and was stopping in front of Zee.

“Zoe, I have to make something right,” he told his daughter. “I need you to stay with Zee, okay? And remember that I love you.”

“Love you too, Dad.”

Rene’s smile lasted until he looked back at Zee.

“What happened?” she asked.

“I have to make something right,” Rene said as he turned and started running back towards Gideon. “Keep Zoe safe, Zee! Take care of her!”

Seconds later, when he was halfway across, the bridge was rocked by explosions that swallowed Rene in their flames.

“NO!” Zee screamed out, quickly pulling Zoe into a hug so she didn’t have to see the blaze where her father had been a moment before.

Ray was now rising with Lily from where he had pulled them to the ground. Both scientists were shaking, staring at the damage.

Rip had stopped right in his tracks, still as a statue.

There was no sign of Rene.

“No,” Zee whimpered, hugging Zoe. “Rene?”

This wasn’t fair to them. They thought everything was going to work out. Now, Rene was gone and they’d also lost-

“Where’s Gideon?”

As soon as Nate’s question came over, the car their leader had been led to exploded.

Zee screamed again. “Gideon!”

               For a terrible moment, she believed that the woman was dead. By the looks of it, the rest of the team did too. Rip looked shattered until they heard the blades of a helicopter whirring. Zee couldn’t see inside it through the smoke coming off the burning bridge, but she knew Gideon was inside. She had to be.

Looking back, Zee noticed Rip’s expression hardening into anger.

The helicopter flew by where Nate was staked out. Over the radio, they could hear the gunfire. Ray flinched at the sound of it before grabbing the radio from Rip.

“Nate?” he called. “Are you okay?”

Silence.

“I copy, but I’m down. Is Gideon-”

Zee stopped listening, watching the helicopter grow further away.

They were going to need a new plan.

* * *

 

               Gideon woke up to the sound of helicopter blades. She was strapped in beside Valentina, who didn’t seem to be startled by her waking up. Up front, she could pick out Ted Gaynor flying the helicopter with a super-solider. This had to be the worst company she could be trapped up in the air with.

“We land in half an hour,” Gaynor shouted to the back.

“Excellent,” Valentina yelled over the noise. “The sooner we can begin, the better.”

“What are you beginning?” Gideon asked. “Because I’ll tell you right now, whatever this is, whatever you’re doing, it’s not going to work.”

“Oh?”

Gideon nodded. “I’m not giving you what you want.”

“But you will,” Valentina sounded smug. “What we want is so simple.”

“Sure it is.”

“We want you to tell us about the day after you died.”

Gideon set her mouth.

Bollocks.

**Author's Note:**

> Dun.....dun....DUNNNNNNNN!
> 
> Please leave us a review or Kudos. Or just drop us a nice ask @incendiaglacies or @agentmarymargaretskitz. They're great for our spirits!
> 
> (A Rene moodboard will also be posted on tumblr soon)


End file.
